


learning curve

by saraheli



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saraheli/pseuds/saraheli
Summary: Jae had never been someone to voice his opinion, but when he is paired to tutor the struggling popular boy Younghyun, he finds that he needs to be more commanding in order to teach him. Jae’s somewhat sarcastic sense of humor and aloof disposition would put anybody off, but Younghyun finds himself endeared by these qualities and is drawn to his tutor for more than just help on his papers.





	1. learning curve

Jae had specifically asked not to be assigned to chemistry students this semester. He was tired of fixing the mistakes that the horrible teachers kept repeating and of rewording the definition of an ionic bond to fit the need of every person who couldn’t understand the conventional one. But alas, the public school system failed him again as he was assigned to be a chemistry tutor for the junior class again. The upside to this, potentially, was having only one student this semester. The downside to the previous point was that this student was Kang Younghyun.

It wasn’t that Jae had a personal offense to be taken against Younghyun, or maybe it was. He tried his best not to be annoyed when the guy had made fun of him in class or pushed him into the lockers all those years ago, but he couldn’t help but maintain a little bit of unease at the idea of being alone with him. Besides those age-old cliches, Jae thought that, though he had grown out of being a bully, he had grown into something almost equally as bad: a single guy with a letterman jacket. He had his pick of the girls in the school and they all participated in the constant social climb and fight for dominance that so frequently came with being young and pretty.

Their first meeting was the Monday before the first chemistry exam. Jae, of course, found himself there before his pupil. He took his seat at the library table and arranged his materials by the order in which he planned to reference them during the session.

Younghyun came ten minutes after he was meant to and said nothing as he took his seat across from the other boy.

“You’re ten minutes late,” Jae said without looking up from his computer.

“Yeah, I’m sure that was a big waste to you,” Younghyun spat back, rolling his eyes.

Jae looked up with raised eyebrows, “I was stating a fact. You’re just being an ass. If you don’t want to fail chemistry, I suggest you get your shit together.”

Younghyun rolled his eyes again but refrained from replying as he got out his textbook and computer.

The rest of the session was not nearly as horrible as the beginning; Younghyun’s attitude disappeared as he came to terms with the sheer amount of difficulty he had with the class and Jae softened at his helplessness.

They scheduled another meeting for the following day and left each other feeling strange. Younghyun felt stupid and sorry for himself, while Jae felt confused and frustrated. Both boys, however, disregarded these emotions soon after and proceeded with their lives until they met again on Tuesday.

Things became noticeably less tense as the days drew on, but they became strange in a different way. Little awkward things occurred so often that Jae wondered if some stupid part of his brain was sabotaging him.

They started small. Accidentally grabbing the pencil at the same time, bumping elbows as they worked, starting sentences in unison: fairly normal things that could happen between any set of strangers. But then, as time closed in on the final meeting, things got even farther from the norm. Fingers brushed each other and stayed close for too long, cheeks warmed and eyes averted; things became more reminiscent of those lovers who are swimming in their own oblivion. The two boys had no idea to what extent their touch made the other’s race and this became harder and harder to hide.

Luckily or unluckily, their sessions ended before things got much further.

Jae couldn’t help but feel a certain emptiness now that he and Younghyun were back to the fake-hostility that bully and bullied so frequently exhibited towards one another. Passing in the halls without a word, he felt displeasure building inside of him. His face reddened at each occurrence of eye contact between them.

Younghyun’s friends would shove Jae and ask what he was looking at and, much to his dismay, the taller boy said nothing to stop them. He would only quietly step in if things got too intense.

But even through the horrible words and the bruises on his arms, Jae couldn’t get rid of the way his heart raced when he remembered sitting close to Younghyun. He couldn’t fight the feeling of breaking into a new world and denying what was expected of him. He couldn’t make himself stop shaking at the thought of being alone with him again.

He couldn’t have known that that other boy was struggling so hard with making himself not feel what he thought he shouldn’t. Younghyun watched him too; he wished he could be closer to him, to know how his hair felt between his fingers or how his cheek would feel against his palm.

This went on for months. It was a school year of shovings into lockers and gazes filled with repressed longing. They unconsciously drew together and pushed each other away. Younghyun listened to his friends making fun of the other boy, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he let them go by. Jae internalized their words and did his best to snap back at them when his responses could be witty enough.

Jae wanted so badly to speak with him about something other than the chemistry on the tests and the math in the books, but it wasn’t until one evening when both boys went to the same diner that any more words passed between them.

Jae was sitting alone in a booth when Younghyun slid in across from him with a basket of fries.

“Listen, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re going to get yourself hurt,” he hissed. His voice, despite his likely well-meaning words, was bitter and intense. “The guys have been asking me shit…Have you been talking about me?”

“What?” Jae looked at him in alarm, making himself small in his seat, “Why would I do that? What would I be telling anyone? It’s not like we’re friends.”

Younghyun looked down into his food and scoffed. “You’re right, we’re not.”

Jae didn’t say anything. “So is that all you came to say?” He mentally begged for the other boy to admit that he felt what he felt, to open up about something. “Why did you come here?”

Younghyun said nothing, only looked out into the rest of the empty diner. Soft music came from a jukebox nearby, only otherwise accompanied by the clinking of plates and silverware.

“You come here on Thursday nights.”

The boys were silent again, but Jae raised his eyebrows.

“How do you know that?”

Younghyun shrugged. “You think I don’t know you, Jae?”

“Well, you’ve ignored me for almost the entirety of our shared experiences.”

Younghyun chuckled, “That was more for me than for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“How could I, with everything that I’m supposed to be, let myself like someone like you?”

Jae blushed, “Where is this coming from exactly? I tutored you for barely three months, you don’t even know me.”

“Of course I know you.” He let out a breath, “You can’t go to school with someone for your whole life and learn nothing about them? I know that you’re a genius but pretend that you’re normal. I know that you seem shy, but you hardly come off that way one on one. I know that you don’t own a real pair of prescription glasses. And I know that you know more than you would like to admit about me.”

Jae stared at him in disbelief.

“How could I admit that I was pining for you?” Younghyun said seriously, “I mean, you saw…You felt what happens.” He swallowed, “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.”

Jae swallowed. “Yeah, that was fucking shitty of you.”

Younghyun didn’t reply, only looking up to meet Jae’s eyes. The silence between them was long and heavy, their gazes washing over each other’s faces. Younghyun’s hand slowly slid across the table and touched Jae’s knuckles. His cheeks grew warm at the contact, but he did not retract his hand.

Younghyun let out a long sigh and wrapped his fingers around Jae’s hand.

“Come somewhere with me,” he said quietly, meeting the other boy’s eyes.

Jae didn’t say anything back; he only stood when Younghyun did and followed him outside where the night had turned to a cool mist beneath the lampposts. Younghyun leaned close to Jae and brushed his lips softly against his. Jae could feel his heart race at the contact, almost gasping before the space between them closed in a long-awaited and anxious kiss.


	2. winter break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dating outside your social circle is hard, but finding a way to fit in his friends, his job, and his perfect new boyfriend is something Younghyun has never had to do before. But, winter break is only two weeks long, so he resolves to make time for his blooming relationship.

Younghyun pulled a sweater over his head with a little sigh. He was preparing for his first “not-after-school-with-homework” (aka real) date with Jae and to say he was nervous was an understatement. His friends didn’t know about them, so on the off chance he ran into them, there would be explaining, or lack thereof, to partake in. He had never taken a boy on a date, so he didn’t know what to do. And, to top it all off, he had been ice skating all of twice and was horrible at it, so he had no idea what he was doing in all possible areas.

Feeling sufficiently out of touch, Younghyun took a deep breath, grabbed his keys and popped a breath mint into his mouth before bidding his parents goodbye and going to Jae’s house.

He had been here a few times to study before, but none of those nights had been this dark or this cool or had this much snow and sheer mental pressure on them. He let out a breath into the air and watched it fade into the light as he approached the door. He swallowed hard and raised his fist to knock on the door.

Jae’s mother answered and greeted him with a warm hug and sweet questions about how he was doing and how he was enjoying his holiday. It was strange to think that she knew everything. She was so lovely and, in his mind, Younghyun knew that everyone else would be, too.

Jae came down the stairs still buttoning the buttons on his flannel shirt. His hair was pushed away from his eyes beneath the cover of a knit cap. He smiled a toothy grin at Younghyun that made his heart melt in his chest.

“Hey,” Jae greeted his boyfriend and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek before the two boys left together.

They still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of acting like a couple mostly because of nerves and lack of experience. In the car, Jae pressed his hands nervously between his own thighs and talked in his usual sarcasm about something stupid he’d read online earlier in the day. Younghyun listened with a soft smile across his mouth as he pictured what the boy’s features must look like, and, when he could finally catch a glimpse of him at a stoplight, congratulated himself on being accurate.

The rink was crowded, but not hectic. The string lights above glowed warmly in the air and the smells of hot chocolate and various other fried foods trickled through the place as they put their skates on.

“You’re nervous,” Jae said, lacing his skates with ease and looking to Younghyun, who blushed furiously.

“Just because I’m not very good,” he admitted.

Jae bit his lip, trying to hide his smile as he kneeled and took the laces from the other boy’s fingers. He laced the skates for him and looked up.

“There. And, luckily for you, I happen to be a very good teacher.”

The first few strides were awful. Younghyun tried his best to be independent of Jae, but his hands betrayed him and splayed towards him with each possibility of lost balance. Jae eventually took it upon himself to lace their fingers together. This gesture made Younghyun blush and stutter something but ultimately not resist.

“See? You’re doing so well,” Jae grinned, giving his boyfriend’s chilly hand a squeeze.

“I would be on my ass if you weren’t holding me up,” Younghyun scoffed.

Jae shook his head and carefully led him over to the edge of the rink. They both gripped it and watched other people whizz past them. There were couples and groups of friends and kids screaming. Younghyun saw them all in an indistinct blur as he focused on Jae’s features. His eyes wandered across the soft curves of his face to where his tongue licked his wind-chapped lips.

“What?” Jae asked, his eyes widening as he looked up at Younghyun, “Do I have something on my face?” He reached up and wiped at his mouth to try and clean up whatever he believed to be there. Younghyun only chuckled and shook his head.

“No, I was just thinking about how stunning you are.” He whispered.

“You’re so full of shit,” Jae laughed, his face breaking into a grin as he laughed, “You just want to kiss me.” He challenged, raising one of his eyebrows.

Younghyun’s mouth hung open in pleasant disbelief. “Jeez, I try to compliment you and you just think I want to get physical.”

Jae slid himself closer, so close in fact that his nose brushed the tip of Younghyun’s. “Don’t you?”

“You’re ridiculous,” he whispered but betrayed himself by tilting his head closer still.

Their lips met and Younghyun could feel his heart racing. He set his hand on Jae’s hip and drew him closer, letting his cheeks warm and his brain shut off as he stopped wondering who could be watching them.

When they finally made their way off of the ice, they decided that it simply must be time for hot chocolate. They ordered together and argued over who would pay and found a place to sit together by the window. Younghyun watched the people chatting and hugging outside, but Jae was only watching him.

“Are you happy that we did this?”

Younghyun turned to look at Jae, “Huh?”

“Instead of something else, I mean. Are you glad this was our first real date?”

Using the word date made Younghyun’s heart swell and his lips curl into a smile. “I am.” He slid his hand across the table and took Jae’s in it, returning his gaze to the world beyond the glass beside him. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”


End file.
